Standard of living in the US

[sierracharlie338]

Their children are raised to succeed on their own instead of blaming someone else for their own bad choices throughout life.

If we did that here on a national scale we wouldn't even be able to see the other countrys behind us.

Well said!

[AtTheWall]

Haiti is the most impoverished Nation on earth. Pre-earth quake was BAD, I can only imagine now. The Countries that have people willing to die at sea to find change, are signals life there is beyond hope. What is so sad about Haiti, it's only a short flight from Miami and or Puerto Rico. Absolutely pathetic conditions!

[Texas Deerman]

A strong middle class and education are the keys to any great society.
Prosperity never "trickles" down.

[fletcherfor2]

I was eligible in the last year of the draft and missed it by *|* this much.
Had a lot of friends and kin folks that weren't as lucky on the draft but thank God they did make it back alive.

I was 18 the first year of the lottery. The number drawn for my birthday was 360. The next year (at 19) the lottery number drawn (and the one that counted for me..you had to be 19 or over for the lottery number drawing to take effect) was 320. I had a student deferment anyway, but was lucky none the less.

[iamntxhunter]

Read the 5000 year leap by Patrick Henry and you will understand why we have surpassed every other nation in the history of the world.

Barry talks about fairness and every one should have a chance. Look where he came from and where he has been able to get to in his life. Now he wants to change a system that has afforded him to become prosperous and the same time was able to become president. What a lame azz joke he is.

[VorTexan]

Read the 5000 year leap by Patrick Henry and you will understand why we have surpassed every other nation in the history of the world.

Barry talks about fairness and every one should have a chance. Look where he came from and where he has been able to get to in his life. Now he wants to change a system that has afforded him to become prosperous and the same time was able to become president. What a lame azz joke he is.

Where did he come from?

[RiverRat1]

A break down the population of the world into only 100 people:

• There would be 51 women and 49 men.
• 70 people would be of a faith other than Christianity.
• There would be 70 people of color; 30 would be white.
• 80 would live in substandard housing (i.e. no running water or electricity, etc.)
• 50 would be malnourished, living off of perhaps one small meal a day.
• 70 would be illiterate and unable to read.
• And 6 of the the 100 would possess half of all the world's wealth and reside in the United States of America.
• There are approximately 6.6 billion people in the world today and close to half of that (well over 3 billion) live on less than $2 a day!
• There are over 300 million living in the U.S. (less than 6% of the world's population), yet Americans have half the world's wealth.

While it's good to compare in order to be truely thankful (and I think kids NEED to see and learn the facts above) it would be ignorant to use that knowledge as an excuse to be lazy and say oh well who cares if our government does "xyz" as we are still better off than the big list. Because once we are no longer better off, it will be near impossible to get it back.

[M-2]

I was eligible in the last year of the draft and missed it by *|* this much.
Had a lot of friends and kin folks that weren't as lucky on the draft but thank God they did make it back alive.

Good. It was cause for celebration to get a high number, for sure.
A guy asked me to marry him my senior year at HS (I said no). He never came back from Nam and I didn't learn about this until my 20th HS Reunion. RIP, Richard.
Another guy I went steady with for a year went and came back greatly changed. Yet another went and came back an arrogant jerk. But he was an arrogant jerk before, so.....
58,209 killed in VN - RIP all.

[M-2]

India was the saddest place I have been

I believe you, for sure, Buff.
When EDS still existed, I worked as a consultant on behalf of my company and, during a meeting with a pretty highly placed exec, she talked about her recent business trip to India. She said it had forever changed her perspective, professionally and personally.

[Kevin]

Rob,

Huh!?!?!

You lost me somewhere in all that.

Kevin